Monday, Monday
by pseudonymitous
Summary: The weekend is over, and it's back to work. Auggie and Annie have to decide if keeping it low-key around the office is worth the extra effort.
1. Morning

Monday.

It had been the weekend of Annie and Auggie- he'd crashed at hers on Friday, brunch at his on Saturday, moonlit drive on Sunday. They'd agreed to stay and arrive separately on Monday, "so as not to arouse suspicion," Auggie had explained as they made out in the backseat of the 'vette like a couple of teenagers. "After all, you don't want the agency sleeping in the middle, do you?"

Annie had grabbed a fistful of his collar and pulled him closer. "I like our proximity just fine."

They were spies, they were supposed to be good at this sort of thing, but Annie found herself constantly looking over at the tech cave, distracted from the mile-high stack of paperwork left in her inbox from Amsterdam.

...

"Dude," Barber said, leaning on Auggie's desk. "I think Annie Walker has a thing for me."

Auggie chewed the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing in his face. "Is that so?"

"She keeps looking over here, man. I don't know."

"Got a lot of work to do, Barber," Auggie said, putting on his headphones. "I am a busy man."

"Sorry," Eric said, backtracking. "I was just wondering if, uh... Okay so... I know it's short notice, but tonight, there's this... social thing, and I was wondering if-"

"What sort of social thing?" Auggie asked, narrowing his eyes. The last "social thing" Barber had dragged him to had been a disaster.

"Speed dating," Barber mumbled. "But before you say no, I could really use a wingman! And I figured, I'm single, you're single..."

"Are you asking _me _to be your speed date?" Auggie chuckled.

"Come on, man," his voice was pleading.

"Why can't you take Stu?" Auggie asked. He leaned back so his voice carried out the door. "Hey, Stu?"

"Stu's in Puerto Rico," Barber said quietly.

"Geez, really?"

"He doesn't get back till a week from Tuesday."

Auggie groaned. "Fine, it's a date."

Eric slapped Auggie on the back. "Thanks, man. I owe you one."

"You owe me two," Auggie groused.

So Annie had been looking over all morning. Unless something had radically changed in the last twelve hours, he suspected her gaze wasn't directed at Eric Barber. Nor Stu, who apparently snuck out the back door to paradise when no one was looking. Or listening.

He knew how Annie felt. He was distracted by her, too, and had been since the day he met her. Luckily, he was a spy, and distraction wasn't that big a deal in conjunction with his work. Once his headphones were on, he was in the zone.

But she'd really been looking over all morning? He could still feel the cotton of her blouse, the chilly leather seats of the Corvette, the slight chapping at the center of her lower lip...

"Hey, Barber, could you cover for me? I'm going to grab an early lunch."

...

Annie found him in the gym, terrorizing a suspended punching bag. She just liked watching him- he moved with incredible grace and balance, black T-shirt straining against him as he threw one punch after another. After a few minutes, he stopped, turned and frowned into middle distance.

"Walker?"

"Hey," she blushed, feeling weird about spying on him.

"You just observing, or would you like to join in the fun?" a patented little-boy grin lifted his mouth at the corners. "I could use a sparring partner."

Two blocked punches later, Auggie had her in a headlock.

"Barber's making me go speed dating tonight," he said, dropping her to her knees.

Annie frowned. "What for?"

As he was about to open his mouth, she shifted her center of gravity, flipping him over her shoulder. He landed on his back with a thud.

"Maybe I just have a thing for Barber," he said with a breathless chuckle. He put a hand on his chest. "Have you been working out?"

"Why?"

"You just tapped me out," he sat up, shot a wrinkly-eyed smile in her direction. "You juicing?"

"Maybe all our little lessons are finally paying off." She scooted around so they were back to back. "So Barber doesn't know we're together?"

"No idea," Auggie turned slightly so she could see him in profile. His face was suddenly serious. "Are you okay with this?"

"Yeah!" Annie said in a voice that sounded too okay with it, much more than she felt. "I mean, we agreed to keep this low-key."

"It's not like tonight is going to mean anything," Auggie reassured her. "I'm just Barber's wingman."

"No, go, have a couple drinks, have some fun," Annie leaned her head against his back. "Have some fun."

"You wanna go another round?" Auggie asked.

"You know, I just remembered... I have to make a phone call. It's pretty time-sensitive. I'll catch you later? Tomorrow maybe."

Before Auggie could answer, she was gone, flying out the door and into the locker room, where she could hopefully change into something that was a little more comfortable with Auggie Anderson seeing other people.


	2. Evening

Auggie stopped by Annie's desk on his way out, but she was on the phone. He felt weird about how that afternoon had gone. Was she really upset with him? Over this? It wasn't as if he was going on a real date, this was just chaperoning Barber. And besides, she'd wanted to keep things under wraps as much as he had. It had been for the sake of preservation. If they'd worked for any other organization, Auggie would've shouted their newfound relationship from the rooftops, but getting the agency involved in your love life was a notorious mess. Keeping it between them kept it intimate, gave it a chance to grow without being trampled by bureaucracy and nosiness.

He rode with Barber to the event, which was being held at some awful tapas place in Georgetown. He wondered where it sat in relation to Annie's place, if she had eaten there before or not. He guessed not, just from the way the restaurant smelled. He couldn't picture Annie there at all.

Barber clapped him a little too hard on the back. "You ready?" He was audibly nervous, slightly out of breath, radiating heat like a broken furnace. Auggie gave him his most reassuring smile as they took their seats.

"Cool as a cucumber. These things are all about just being yourself."

"When I ding this bell, the women move one chair to their right. Men stay where you are," announced the nasal event coordinator.

*ding*

Joanne. Wore too much Jean Nate to cover up her cigarette habit, a facade that came crashing down when she broke into a hacking cough and had to excuse herself.

*ding*

Cynthia. Wore Vera Wang Princess and grabbed his knee under the table. Then, Not His Knee.

*ding*

Deb. No perfume, demanded to know why he didn't make eye contact. Awkward moment of the year.

*ding*

After four or five, Auggie stopped skirting the issue of careers and started making some up.

"I'm a deep sea explorer," he told one Julie from Newark.

"But... isn't that hard? Because you can't see?" her voice was laced with syrupy concern.

Auggie flashed her a Most Interesting Man In The World smile. "SONAR."

"Okay, you are not being yourself," Barber groused as the women transitioned after the bell.

"I'm not exactly seeking the rainbow connection here," Auggie whispered. "Don't worry about me."

...

Annie figured tonight was the perfect night to call Danielle. She hadn't told her anything- about Amsterdam or Auggie. Danielle didn't like to admit she worried, but she worried. She invented worry.

"Hello?" her sister's voice was still bright and awake, reminding Annie that it was only 6 p.m. on the West Coast.

"It's me," Annie sliced up some strawberries at the kitchen counter, balancing the phone between her chin and her shoulder.

"I miss you so much!" she heard Danielle stifle the receiver. "Girls! It's Aunt Annie!"

The girls' voices erupted in the background.

"They're eating dinner right now, but they miss you too."

"Aww, I'll have to Skype you later this week," Annie said, popping a berry in her mouth.

"So what's up?"

"Well... I have some news," Annie held her breath. She knew Danielle would blow up in her face the second the words left her mouth.

"Spill it."

"Um, you remember my friend Auggie?"

"Hero of the Smithsonian."

"Well, he and I-"

"You didn't."

"Yeah."

The scream was piercing. Annie couldn't help but laugh.

"Danielle..."

"Oh my god what happened tell me everything are you engaged yet are you living together how long has this been going on or is that classified can you tell me that?"

Annie sighed. "It just sort of happened on Friday. He came over and we decided to give it a shot."

"Shot, nothin. Where is he? Is he there? I want to talk to him."

There was the catch. "Um, he's not here..."

"Where is he?"

"Out. Speed dating."

"...I'm confused."

"We decided not to tell anyone at work about us because we didn't want everyone finding out," Annie said, just as it occurred to her that she'd probably just broadcast the information by saying it over the phone. "So tonight he accepted an invite to go speed dating."

"You sound upset."

"No, I'm not. It'd be ridiculous to be upset, right?"

Danielle took a rare pause. "Well, I think it depends. What about it really upsets you?"

"I don't know," Annie said, pacing around her kitchen. "Maybe the part where we just started acting like a couple and he's acting like we're not even involved."

"Did he ask you if it was okay?"

"Yeah."

"So what are you afraid of?"

"Losing him," it came out of her mouth on autopilot, before she'd even mulled it over. "I'm afraid of losing him. Um, Danielle, I'm sorry, but I've got to make a phone call. I'll Skype you tomorrow."

"Love you."

"Love you more."

Annie looked at the phone for at least a minute before she dialed Auggie's number.

It went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, Aug... Um, it's me. I know you're at that thing with Barber, so... Yeah don't worry about it. I'll probably see you tomorrow."

She sank down to the kitchen floor, back against the fridge. Figuring out the hangup in her relationship had only made her feel emptier. Auggie was her rock, he was her man, he always had been. But the men she'd fallen for in the past had always left her. Ben Mercer, Simon Fisher, even Jai Wilcox by some standards. It was a pathological fear that was putting a wedge in her present relationship and she hated it.

It was then that she heard a light rapping against wood from outside.

"Hey, Walker? You home?"


	3. Night

Annie went out across the patio to find Auggie at the gate.

"Hey," she said.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" Auggie asked.

Annie laughed. "What?"

"Look, we need to put a label on this or it's gonna make me crazy. Are you my girlfriend or not?"

Annie smiled. "Okay. I'm your girlfriend."

"HEAR THAT EVERYBODY? SHE'S MY GIRLFRIEND," he yelled to nobody. Annie blushed, giggling. Auggie laughed, too. "Come here."

She obliged, and he wrapped his arms around her, so they were forehead-to-forehead.

"I want you to know that I had a terrible time tonight. I thought of nothing but you, it was beyond irritating."

"I'm sorry for acting irrationally," Annie said, wrapping her arms around his neck and playing with his hair. "I'm just paranoid."

"Don't be," Auggie said, seriously.

"Okay."

They shared a gentle kiss.

"You taste like strawberries."

"You smell like cigarettes."

"Her name was Joanne. She left an impression."

"Gross."

"It was slim pickings out there, but I scored," he joked, pulling a handful of napkins from his pocket. "I'm told these are covered in phone numbers."

Annie flipped through them. "Did they not notice that you couldn't read these?"

"I don't know what they were thinking."

"Who's Dan?"

Auggie grimaced. "About halfway through, I got bored and just started lying."

"Well, you should get inside, whoever you are. It's cold out here."

He took her hand, his fingers warm and strong, and followed her in. Annie Walker had a boyfriend.


	4. Tuesday

"So..." Barber sipped his coffee in the corner of the office as Auggie came in and booted up.

"So?" Auggie grinned.

"So I took that tattooed chick out for drinks after you left."

"And?"

"She barfed in my car."

"The Prius? Aw, man, I'm sorry," Auggie grimaced in earnest.

"I don't know what I was thinking," Barber said through a mouthful of something, probably a donut. "I never meet anyone at these things."

"Barber, no one meets anyone at those things. You'll get em next time."

Barber shuffled out just as Joan strode in.

"Joan! What can I do for you?"

"As soon as Annie gets here, I need you both in my office," her tone was cold. "Quickly, please."

...

Annie was barely out of the elevator when she bumped into... her boyfriend.

"Hey, you," she purred as he took her arm.

"We've been summoned," his tone was grave.

"What? What for?"

"I have no idea," Auggie tried.

"Yes you do."

Auggie nibbled the inside of his lip, jaw muscles jumping. "Yeah. I do."

It was rarely a good sign when they were called into Joan's office together. His grip was tight against her elbow, nearly on a pressure point. Maybe it was just her imagination, but he seemed less steady than usual.

"You wanted to see us?" Annie asked, closing the door behind her.

"Yes," Joan walked around her desk. Auggie dropped his hand from Annie's arm. "I hear the two of you are an item."

Annie fumbled over her excuse, but Joan held up her hand.

"I don't care to hear lies and excuses," she said. "And while I'm neither surprised nor upset, I want to be sure you understand the risks this could pose to the agency and to your covert status."

Annie peeked over at Auggie. That jaw was jumping again.

"Now, you both know that intra-office dating is encouraged, but the two of you have a history of sleeping with the enemy. Simon Fisher, Liza Hearn... I hope you two are going into this with both eyes open. I don't want to see either one of you brought up on treason charges, ever again," she leaned against the desk and folded her arms. "You two have always acted on your emotions with one another, but I feel obligated to warn you that your decisions are more likely to be second-guessed, weighed on a different scale. You'll have to work harder to prove you're making the right call."

Auggie nodded tersely. Annie followed suit.

The corner of Joan's mouth turned up. "Off the record, however, I have to say... I think it's about time. Don't screw this up."


	5. Details

As soon as Joan dismissed them, Auggie was out the door.

"Hey, wait up!" Annie jogged up behind him, taking his arm as they fell into step. She exhaled softly. "That went better than expected."

"Mmhm," he wasn't trying to convince anybody. If she was happy, he wasn't going to go out of his way to bring her down.

She walked him to his office, but she didn't leave. "Eric, could you give us a minute?"

He heard Barber stand, grabbing his bag of whatever junk food was probably all over Auggie's keyboard.

"Sit down, Barber," Auggie growled.

"I'm in the middle of an extraction," Barber whimpered. "Please make up your mind."

"Do it at your desk, I'm sure they'll understand," Annie urged. Was it his imagination or was she getting closer?

Barber left. Annie made sure the door was shut behind him.

"What's gotten into you?" Auggie asked.

"What aren't you telling me?" Annie countered.

"Look, I'm just letting what Joan said sink in. I am allowed to ruminate."

"Are you having second thoughts about this?" Annie's voice was quieter now, vulnerable.

"Were you listening back there? You and I have made some risky moves in the past. Gotten each other out of some tight spots. And in the past, the agency has allowed it because they felt we were acting on what we thought was the best move for the operative in question."

"Well... we have, haven't we?"

"I have done my best," Auggie said. "And I feel right with myself about how it's all worked out so far. I don't regret any move I've made, and I hope you don't either but you have to understand that it's different now."

Annie shook her head, hair brushing against the collar of her blazer. "Why?"

Auggie sighed heavily. He didn't want to say it. "Every action we make now is going to be viewed as a play for favoritism. A conflict of interest... Walker, I would do anything to be with you. But not if it means that I am no longer seen as qualified to keep you safe."

Annie moved to hug him, but he shrugged her off. "Get to work. I think we both have a lot to think about."

Auggie waited till she was gone before he took his own advice.


	6. The Odds

Annie worked straight through lunch. Auggie's blinds were drawn, and she wasn't going to mess with him. She was tired. Tired of the agency. Tired of all this damned paperwork. She couldn't get on to another mission until all this shit from the past few months was cleared up and out of the way, and frankly, she had a lot to write about.

But the more she reported on these events, the more she realized they all traced back to Auggie. Auggie helping get her back into shape so she could get to Russia. Auggie helping her get out of prison. Auggie helping her in Amsterdam. And when Auggie wasn't there, when it was Eyal she owed, she wished he had been. He was always making risky moves on her behalf, from the first day she started. The guy went with her, someone he'd only known for what, a week, to break into a morgue. What kind of person did that?

August Anderson did that. He always did that. He took more action on her behalf than she did for him. Yeah, he got into less trouble, but she considered how often they were vulnerable with one another, and it suddenly seemed like the most symbiotic relationship. If they had to break up to keep working together, she would do it. She needed him in the field or she was useless. Last time, she called Eyal, but she couldn't do that anymore. It was high time she called her own abilities into question. She was a good spy, but she was no Auggie. And seeing how good he was in the field now, she could only imagine how good he used to be.

It was seven thirty when Annie got the feeling she was being watched. She turned, expecting it to be nothing, but instead found Auggie, arms crossed, leaning against the desk behind hers. She jumped slightly.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"A really long time, actually," he said. His sounded tired. "I thought you were supposed to be a spy."

Annie didn't smile or laugh. She didn't want to joke anymore. She wanted to talk, seriously. Like adults.

"So."

Auggie sighed. "Yeah."

"Auggie-"

"No, Annie, stop," he pinched the bridge of his nose. She wondered if he had another one of his headaches. "Let me say what I came to say. Please."

Annie kept quiet. He moved over, so he was on the edge of her desk.

"Ever since we met, you've made this place fun. You've made work a thing I look forward to. And honestly after I got benched, I didn't think I'd ever say that again. You snuck me back in the field. You got me going again. And I owe you... I owe you so much. And I would do anything to keep you around. So, we have some decisions to make. We can break up, and keep going the way we were..."

"Okay," Annie said.

He blinked. "What?"

"That's clearly what you want," Annie said earnestly. "And I want you to be happy."

Auggie laughed bitterly, pinching the bridge of his nose again. "You didn't even want to hear the second option."

"Auggie, I don't want to do anything you don't want to do. If you want to go back to being what we've been for three years-"

"A beautiful spy and the guy who doesn't have the stones to tell her how much he loves her? Because you didn't let me finish. You didn't hear me say that I don't know how long I could live like that. I've had a glimpse of what I want, what I really want, and I don't want to let it... you... go."

Annie felt tears in her eyes. This was what she had wanted. This was what she needed.

"Do you mean that?" she thought of the men who had left her before. The men who had broken her heart. The fact that Simon and Ben had both said that they'd never let her go, and then done just that. But she also thought about what she and Auggie had been through, together and apart. Bullets, blasts. Endless rehab. Endless negotiations at gunpoint. Endless rebellion against the odds.

Auggie's voice was hoarse. "More than anything. It's going to be hard, but we've been reassigned before, and they're not even asking us to do that. We're just going to have to fight."

Annie put her hand on his, on the desk. "Good thing we're fighters."

If the odds were against them, Annie Walker felt sorry for the odds.


	7. When The Music's Right

Annie offered to drive him home, and when they got to his place, he didn't want to get out of the car.

"Come up," he said. They were the first words out of his mouth all night. He'd meant it to be a request, but it really wasn't. It was an "I need you right now." Her keys jingled, her seatbelt unbuckled.

He wasn't sure what to do once they got upstairs. He hung up his coat, took off his shoes. He half expected Annie to help herself to whatever she wanted, but instead she just stood in the kitchen, in total silence.

After a moment of standing at opposite sides of the apartment, she trod softly toward the stereo. He remained stock-still, hand on the counter, as she played around with his iPod.

Charles Mingus. "The Sound of Love." He knew it by the first two notes alone. Annie took one of his hands and put the other on his shoulder. His hand found her waist as she began to softly sway to the music.

"You don't know how long I've been wanting to do this," she whispered.

"Reenact _Scent of a Woman?" _he whispered back.

"Dance with you."

"You're crazy," he said softly, pulling her close.

His hands explored her waist, the small of her back as they moved. Hers moved from his shoulder to the back of his neck, into his hair. She loved raking her fingers through his hair. He debated never cutting it again.

"Why dancing?" he asked. He was curious. "Why not roller blading, or... croquet?"

Annie laughed, shook her head. "No, it's stupid."

"Tell me anyway."

"You have a problem with authority, Mr. Anderson."

"Captain Anderson."

"Don't pull rank on me when I'm telling a story."

This woman was driving him mad.

"Okay, so remember when I was in the hospital?"

He chuckled darkly. "Vaguely, yeah."

"I had this... I don't know if you could call it a dream, or what... But... you were in it."

Auggie stopped cold, recalling his bedside confessions, wondering if she really did hear them like the nurse said.

"You helped me escape," she said quietly. "We danced. And we... kissed."

There was a moment of silence before their lips collided. It was a kiss for the ages. Passionate, warm, intense. When she finally pulled away, he stumbled slightly backwards. He heard her giggle breathlessly.

"I should go home," she said, because she was intent on torturing him.

"Why?" he asked, taking a bold step in her direction. "Dance with me a little longer."


	8. The Angry Man

Auggie and Annie lay in Auggie's bed. "Reincarnation of a Lovebird" crooned through the stereo system. Annie lay near him, in the tangle of pillows and blankets, letting Auggie play with her hair. He ran his fingers through it, root to tip. It was impossibly soft. He could only hope that the tangy scent of her shampoo lingered on his sheets after she left.

"I love this song," Annie murmured.

Auggie lay back against the pillows. "I used to hate jazz music."

He could hear the frown in Annie's voice. "I just can't picture that."

"I really did," he insisted. "But when I was in Iraq, my buddy Billy- I've told you about Billy?"

"You've told me about Billy."

"-He was obsessed with it. Total connoisseur. Whenever we'd have down time, he would put something on and explain all the movements and the history of the piece. I got pretty into it over there."

He cleared his throat, hoping to remove the lump that came with reminiscing about Billy.

"Anyway, after... everything, I came home, and I didn't know what to do with myself. All I could do was listen, so I did. I listened to every jazz record I could get my hands on. It gave me a way to clear my mind, to focus on all the little intricacies in the music. For the record, your hearing doesn't get better when you lose your eyesight. That's an urban legend."

Annie rolled over halfway, her hair fanning across the pillow. "What drew you to Mingus?" It was just like her not to make him dwell on the things that made him uncomfortable. He loved her for it. But he was going to be honest.

"Charles Mingus is called the Angry Man of Jazz. I identified with that... more than I think I wanted to admit. More than I still want to admit."

Annie held him a little tighter than before, like she was afraid he'd disappear. Her voice was little more than a breath, but it was surer than anything. "It's okay to be angry."

Her words hung in the air like cigarette smoke, and Auggie took his time in letting them go. He was angry about a lot of things, frustrated really. But he felt the anger channeling itself into passion. He felt it getting righteous, thriving in the face of adversity, becoming constructive with each passing day. And he owed it all to her.


	9. The End of the Beginning

The next morning, Auggie didn't meet Annie at the elevator. They rode in it together. There was no catch-and-release in the hallway. Rather, two hands entwined, boldly marching into Langley. Annie wore her kitten heels, relishing the sound they made in the lobby.

"People are staring at us," Annie whispered.

"I very decidedly don't give a shit," Auggie whispered back. "I'd like to think, as my girlfriend, that you'd absorb this lack of awareness as a fringe benefit."

Annie smiled a secret smile, and Auggie mirrored it. It was like they were connected. Another fringe benefit.

"Some girl on the first floor gave me a death glare this morning," Annie said as they rounded the corner. "Do we not care about that either?"

"That would be Pity Pam," Auggie said. "Don't know her real name. Never bothered to ask."

"But how was the sex?" Annie asked knowingly. Auggie's elbow jabbed playfully into hers.

"Don't even joke."

"Okay," Annie said, pausing at the office door. "We ready?"

"Oh my god, 'we,' 'we,' 'we'... What are you, one of the three little pigs?" Auggie beamed.

"You're right. I'm smothering you," Annie beamed back.

You need to get back out in the field, Walker. This place is making you crazy."

"I don't know how I'll make it," Annie joked. "I've been out of the spy game for so long."

Auggie ran his thumb along the top of her hand. "You're lucky Tech-Ops loves you. Now open that door."

As Annie obliged, and they crossed that threshold, she felt a page turn. The transformation was complete.


End file.
